Improved life-boat



'gleiten tutte tgltttrnt @fitta MILTON V. NOBLES, O F. ELMIRA., NEW YORK.

` 'Laim Parent No. 65,824, ma JW 18, 1867.

IMPROVED LIlE-BQAT.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, MILTON V. NOBLES, of Elmira, in the county of Chemung, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Life-Boats; and I do hereby7 declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 represents a top plan of the boat, with the cover removed to show the interior of the hold.

Figure 2 represents a side elevation, with a portion of the side of the ,boat representedas broken away to show the interior, and the canvas or cloth cover removed from its frame so as to show the construction of the latter and its manner of being united to the boat.

Figure 3 represents a top plan of the frame that supports the canvas or rubber-cloth covering.

Similar letters of reference where they occur in the separate igures denote like parts in all of the drawings.

My invention consists in applying a removable and replaceable inflated cover `to and over the hold of a lifeboat, and supplying the interior with fresh and removing the foul air from the enclosed space through a hollow and divided shaft or mast, so that the life-boat cannot have any water thrown into it, and consequently cannot sink.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings. I.

The hull of the boat A may be made of any of the most approved shapes, forms, or sizes. A light frame, B, is made of a base, a, and of ribs, 6,so as to leave a hatch-way, C, in its central portion- Around the beat, where the base or rim a rests, a strip ol' rubber, c, is secured, and by means of hasps d Aor pins e and keys, or other equivalent fastenings, this frame is drawn down and held so tightly upon the rubber strip as to pack the joint and make it impervious to water. AOver this'frame B a double rubber-cloth, g, or other suitably prepared canvas or cloth, is placed, the lower edge of it being drawn under the hase and, by means of eyelets or grummets, hooked on to pins,f, so that in pleasant weather the cover may be'rolled up or removed and readily fastcned down, when necessary,. When the cover g is made doubleair may be forced in between the two thicknesses of rubber or cloth, when it becomes, as it were, an inuted life-preserver. But this cover may bc of single material, impervious to air, and contain compressed air, and thus admit of the hold being occupied while the air in it was of this compact or compressed character. The hatch-way C I make rectangular, though it may be round or oval, and into it fits a frame, z, of corresponding shape, which is drawn tightly down and held by the hasp z', which passes over a staple, with a pin to hold it; and to this frame L and to a thimble or sleeve, which passes over Athe ,mast` D, a cloth, canvas, or rubber-cover, 7c, is secured, so as to completely cover the hatch-way and make the joint between this cover and the boat-cover g impervious to water. The cloth, canvas, or rub ber coverings g and k are furnished withv sky-lights Z Z, and t-he boat-cover g may be used without the cover being over the hatcl1-way, when the weather permits, or both may be removed and stowed, simplyleaving the lightframe B in its place. The vmast D is hollow, and I propose to divide it longitudinally into four distinct passages, as shown by the partitions mm, fig. 1, for the purpose of having natural ventilation in the hold in'ce'rA tain cases, and a forced ventilation when necessary, by means of an apparatus that can he worked by the occu pants of the boat in the hold. For natural ventilation I arrange as follows: A cowl, n, and vane, o, are arranged on a tube, p, which extends down into one of the passages in the mast, as shown in iig. 1, said cowl, vane, and tube being arranged so as to turn or be veered around by the wind. The wind or air taken in at the cowl passes down through the tubep and through its passage in the mast, and enters the hold below the coverg, and is taken into the hold through the pipe g, while the foul air may escape through the pipe r into a separate passage in the mast, and escape up out of the top thereof. The pipes g and r should both have stopcocks in them, so that when the natural ventilation is used they may be opened, but when the articial'or forced ventilation is used then these pipes must be closed. The artificial or forced ventilation'is as follows: A double fan is arranged in a tight fan-case, E, which fan or fans may be turned by a crank, F, and geared, if necessary, to give the fan a Very rapid motion, eachfan operating in its own fan-case, though both may be revolved by the same Shaft and at the same time. To cach of the fans of the pair, or rather to each of the fan-chambers, are united two tubes e t and u v, one of each pair s u connecting with separate passages in the mast D, and the `others of the pairs t v terminating or opening in the hold of the boat; and for the purpose ot' being moved into different portions of the hold, or for being detached when not needed, I propose to make these tubes of rubber or other flexible material. The fans in the case E, when revolved, operate like all. ordinary fans, viz, to draw in air at their centres and throw it ell` at theirpperiineters. New the tubes t 1t connect with the centre or eyes of the fan-chamber, and consequently the air is drawn through these two tubes into the fan-case. The-tubes s v connect with the perimeter of the fan-chamber, and the air is expelled from the fan-chamber through these tubes. The end of the tubeibeing-open and in the hold of the boat, the impure airis drawn into it and expelled through the one s, and into one of the passages -in the mast, and escapes out of the top of the mast. The other fan at the same time draws fresh air taken in at an opening, w, a little below the top of the mast, down through its passage in the must into the tube u, and thence into the eye or centre of the fan, and this fresh, pure air is driven out through the tube v into the hold, and supplies the place of that drawn into the tube t and expelled, as above stated. The object in taking in the fresh, pure air at w and nt a point below the top of the mast where the foul air is escaped, is to prevent one fan from drawing in the saine ai!` that the other is expelling. Thefoul air being the lightest and thrown out with considerable force, will rise and pass ol` without liability of being mixed or contaminated by the foul air. Thus, by the same fan, foul air is expelled from the hold and pure air drawn in and distributed to take its place. This forced ventilation need only bc used when the cover is made very tight and close, so that the occupants are, as it were, in an air-tight compartment, as, for instance, when the seuJ is very rough. x is a tube for inating the space between the double covers g, which inflation, together with Vthe cover' perfectly airtight and the forced ventilation inside,would make the hold habitable, while the-'boat could not take in any water or by any possibility sink. The ordinary water or food or nir apartments or spaces maybe made in the ends and around under the decks of the boat. A hole, y, is made through the cover g, and large enough to admit of an oar being passed through from the inside. Outside of the cover and around this hole is fixed two flaps of' rubber or rubber-cloth, which so encircle, the oar as to make the opening water-tight. The boat can thus be steered or guided or propelled.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, is- K l. Covering the hold of a life-boat with a flexible air and water-tight covering, supported' by and fastened to a sustaining frame, substantially as described. i K n 2. I also claim making the cover ol' a life-boat of doublerubber or other cloth, with air-space between, so that it may be inflated, and thus made more buoyant, substantially as described. I

3. I also claim Ventilating the hold of a life-boat through ahollow mast furnished with separated passages, whether by natural or artificial currents of out-going impure and incoming fresh or pure air, substantially as described.

M. V. NOBLES.

Witnesses:

A. B. SToUGHToN, J. HoLcoMB. 

